The U.S. relaunch of Italian automaker Alfa Romeo will be spearheaded by the mid-engine 4C sports car.

The production version of the 4C will make its debut at the 2014 Detroit Auto Show, which is also when the official relaunch of the brand will take place.

The 4C will be the first of several American models for the Italian automaker that is being rejuvenated stateside by parent company, Fiat. They hope to bring the five-door Mito, new Spider, Giulia sedan and wagon, a new compact SUV, and the new flagship 6C to America by 2016.

Once Alfa Romeo establishes itself back on American soil, it will turn attention to the Chinese market. After displaying a booth at the Guangzhou Motor Show last year, the company was pleased with the results and the response its models received.

Autocar is also reporting that the 4C will be offered with a dual-clutch, automatic transmission with paddle shifters, but no manual transmission option. The 4C will be powered by Alfa Romeo’s 230-hp, turbo inline four cylinder.

[Source: Autocar UK]

While America anxiously awaits Alfa Romeo’s return, Fiat has been getting busy deciding to produce the 4C sports coupe, packing plenty of lightweight carbon fiber, a turbocharged four-cylinder powerplant with 230-hp, rear-wheel-drive and a 4.5-second 0-60 mph time.

The concept originally debuted at last year’s Geneva Motor Show in a matte red finish (pictured above) and then made another appearance in a liquid-metal finish in Frankfurt a few months ago. Since then, many Europeans have been speculating whether or not Alfa Romeo would go ahead and produce the 4C but now Top Gear is reporting that they will, with testing of the vehicle beginning next year and hitting the market in 2013.

Reports are saying that the 4C will be priced at around £45,000, which is $70,000 or so. For the performance that Alfa Romeo intends to pack in the vehicle, it should be formidable within that price range out in Europe and it’ll be rather interesting to see if it’ll ever make its way to the American market when Chrysler reintroduces the brand to the US.

There is also a chance that Alfa Romeo will over a more powerful 4C model with around 300-hp and possibly a roadster variant later on.

GALLERY: Alfa Romeo 4C

[Source: TopGear]

Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne is making Alfa Romeo’s U.S. re-launch a top priority, calling it “the most difficult thing I have to do”. Alfa Romeo last sold cars in the U.S. in 1995, but the brand still has a strong image in the U.S., spurring Marchionne to focus efforts on North America.

Alfa Romeo’s image has taken a beating in Europe over its legendary quality issues, and this factor provided further impetus for Fiat to focus their efforts in the U.S., where Alfa’s are viewed with nostalgic fondness. Marchionne hopes that Alfa will sell 80,000 cars in the U.S.  in 2014, with 400,000 units sold globally – up from 150,000 currently.

Alfa will offer the 4C sports car and a compact SUV will be offered initially with the Giulia sedan and wagon, the Mito hatchback, a new Spider and a Chrysler 300C-derived 6C sedan coming as well. The 4C is said to be a key halo designed to capitalize on memories of Dustin Hoffman’s Alfa Spider in the iconic film The Graduate.

[Source: AutoCar]

With little in the way of new product, Alfa Romeo will re-showcase its 4C Concept at the Frankfurt Auto Show, with some changes. OK, maybe we could drop the “s” on changes. The reality is, there’s really just one update… and it’s paint. Yup, Alfa says the 4C Concept will get a “new and exclusive ‘fluid metal’” color which has been designed to better show off the, “smooth and sinuous lines of the car”.

Apart from that, look for the same turbocharged 1.8-liter 4-cylinder making over 200-hp and mated to a dual-clutch transmission, with the Lotus Alfa weighing under 1,900 lbs.

Then again, maybe Alfa will surprise us after all, announcing that the car has been “refined and enriched with technical contents”. We’ll find out more for sure at the car’s unveiling on September 13th at the Frankfurt Auto Show.

The 4C will go into production and will act as the new flagship for the brand. The 4C is also expected to be the first of a new line of Alfa Romeos to be offered in North America.

GALLERY: Alfa Romeo 4C Concept

Some believe that if you are a true petrol-head, you have to have owned an Alfa Romeo at least once in your life. Taking a look at their history, its easy to see why. This Italian brand has produced some of the most gorgeous automotive designs ever, like the Montreal, GTV6 coupe and the 8C Competizione.

Now Alfa fans will soon have another model to lust after, the 4C. Previewed at the Geneva Motor Show in concept form, now it seems that Alfa Romeo will be unveiling a near production model at the upcoming Frankfurt Motor Show.

To start us drooling, Alfa Romeo has released a teaser picture of the new 4c. The head-on shot reveals that it’ll look very much like the concept version, which is no bad thing.

Mechanically, it will use a 1.75-liter, turbo-charged, four-cylinder motor that is capable of producing 230-hp. Since the car is expected to weight just over 1,900 lbs., it should be a rapid car.

European sales for the 4C are expected to start next near, although US-sales will like commence in 2013, along with a full range of other Alfa Romeos. We cant wait.

GALLERY: Alfa Romeo 4C Concept

Alfa Romeo fans, prepare to once again exercise your well-practiced art of patience. The launch of the brand in North America has once again been pushed back… sort of.

At last check, Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne had said the premium automaker would launch in 2012. That will still hold true, but only if you’re interested in, or can afford to buy, the upcoming 4C sports car. The rest of the products in the lineup won’t arrive until mid-way through 2013, with the launch of a new compact crossover, followed by the mid-size Giulia sedan later that year.

The last Alfa to be sold on U.S. shores was the ultra-exotic 8C, priced at over $100,000. The 4C will cost roughly half as much, and if the production model holds true to the concept, it should get a turbocharged 1.8-liter making 265-hp.

GALLERY: Alfa Romeo 4C

[Source: Automotive News]

Alfa Romeo is banking on the 4C’s ability to seduce us like those posters of Audrey Hepburn from Roman Holiday in every sorority girl’s dorm room. And as an attention-grabbing prelude to a glorious U.S. return, it’s working. Consider us seduced.

But that’s not all, folks: the 4C could pave the way for a host of Italian sports cars, starting with Spider and Abarth versions to follow. Abarth is a Fiat brand, of course, and would also be represented by the upcoming Fiat 500 Abarth here. But reports from Turin indicate that Maserati is also looking to use the 4C for a smaller sports car against the Porsche Cayman and the Lotus Elise.

If everything goes according to this plan, it means that the 4C will share itself among three brands within the Chrysler/Fiat portfolio—and just from the Italian arm. You can bet that Dodge CEO Ralph Gilles won’t let any Italian sports cars out of his grasp, and neither will Chrysler. Remember: if you can’t beat ‘em, flood ‘em with platform-sharing duplicates. That’s how the saying goes, right?

GALLERY: Afa Romeo 4C

[Source: Autoblog]

Alfa Romeo’s been threatening to invade American shores for as long as, well, we’ve been trying to find Bin Laden. But now with Terrorist Numero Uno sweeping up plankton in the ocean, it looks like there’s no choice but for Fiat to finally follow through with what they’ve announced over 10 years ago.

Of course, back in the year 2000 Bush had just been elected into office, Mel Gibson was still a charming romantic lead, and Alfa Romeo was in bed with General Motors, while issuing plans to sell Alfa roadsters in Cadillac and Saab dealers. Now Fiat comes to America through a different parent company and with a new product lineup. The 4C sports car—shown at Geneva—will lead the charge serving affordable-halo-car duties, but the Giulia sedan will serve as the company’s mainstream sales leader. As Alfa’s key model in the US it’s vital to get it right, which is why its designers have been ordered to redo it by no less than Fiat-Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne. ”I don’t think it’s an Alfa,” he said. ”You could take off the badge, and it could be German.”

Ouch. But this is Alfa Romeo we’re talking about, not some cut-price people schlepper—enthusiasts have dreamed of Alfa’s return for years, even after the brand ignominiously bowed out in 1994, leaving behind broken gaskets and broken hearts. Fiat aims to stay in America for a lot longer than they did, using their new Compact Wide architecture that underpins the Giulietta hatchback that was launched in Europe last year. The Compact Wide will also form the replacement for the Chrysler 200. For Ramaciotti, it’s a problem to design the new Giulia to this Fiat-originated platform and get the looks right to appeal to jaded American consumers.

And in typical non-PC Italian fashion, Ramaciotti had this to say about their efforts: “we are, in a way, like fashion designers, and if you have to make a suit for a model you can do things you can’t do if you have to make it for a fat lady.”

All of a sudden, it’s like they never left.

[Source: Motor Trend]